Business Ethics and the Changing Environment

This assignment explores the implications of business ethics in light of recent changes in the business environment. In particular, it will focus on how businesses should respond to increasing public scrutiny and criticism.

The past decade has seen a number of major scandals involving large corporations. These have included Enron and WorldCom in the United States, Parmalat in Italy, and Siemens in Germany. These scandals have led to a heightened awareness of business ethics among the general public. As a result, businesses are now under greater scrutiny than ever before.

There are a number of ways in which businesses can respond to this increased scrutiny. One is to simply continue doing what they have been doing and hope that the bad publicity will eventually die down. This is often not an effective strategy, as the public tends to have a long memory when it comes to corporate scandals.

Another approach is to attempt to defend their actions by claiming that they were within the law. This may sometimes be successful, but it is often seen as an admission of guilt. It can also backfire if it is shown that the company's actions were actually illegal.

A more proactive approach is to try to improve business ethics in general. This can be done by implementing new policies and procedures, or by increasing transparency and communication with stakeholders. It can also involve trying to change the culture of an organization so that ethical values are given greater importance.

Whichever way businesses choose to respond to increased scrutiny, it is clear that business ethics are now under the spotlight like never before.